The National Football League has launched a $100-million initiative to protect players and help better understand concussions, Commissioner Roger Goodell said Wednesday.

The initiative, called, “Play Smart, Play Safe,” comes at a time of heightened scrutiny over head injuries and concussions on the field. The money will be invested in medical research and player-safety initiatives. Teams that don’t comply with concussion protocols will be punished, Goodell said.

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“When it comes to addressing head injuries in our game, I’m not satisfied and neither are the owners of the NFL’s 32 clubs,” Goodell wrote in a letter. “We can and will do better.”

NFL officials hope the investment will lead to better medical care for players and improvements to equipment, including helmets and playing surfaces.

Central Florida’s most winningest coach, Bill Gierke, has coached high school football for more than 40 years. He said it’s time to change the way the game is taught.

“It has to be,” he said.

At Orangewood Christian School, Gierke is working to improve player safety for the next generation. He’s worked with the NFL, advocating for better training for volunteer youth coaches.

Following a statewide mandate from the Florida High School Athletic Association, he has limited live-contact drills during practice. The NFL has recommended the same to reduce the risk of concussions.

"It’s about proper coaching, improve the techniques, do the things necessary to limit contacts,” said Goodell in an interview with NBC’s Matt Lauer. “Those are the changes we have been making. We are seeing that on every level of football from the NFL down to the youth level.”

Gierke praised the NFL’s announcement.

“For years, people never worried about that,” said Gierke. “And now that we have the concussion problem and all the research that’s being done, I think what the NFL has done is address the problem and try to help fix it.”